| Musca autumnalis | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Muscidae |
| Genus: | Musca |
| Species: | M. autumnalis |
| Binomial name | |
| Musca autumnalis De Geer, 1776 | |
| Synonyms | |
Musca autumnalis, the face fly or autumn housefly, is a pest of cattle and horses.
The face fly is similar to the closely related housefly but is slightly larger, averaging about 7–8 mm long and grey in colour with four dark stripes on the thorax, with a grey-black patterned abdomen. Like many true flies, in the males, the eyes almost touch when viewed from above. [1]
Musca autumnalis is widespread throughout most of Europe, Central Asia, northern India, Pakistan, China and some parts of North Africa.[ citation needed ]
It was introduced into North America around the 1940s and has now occupies a territory from southern Canada into most temperate parts of the United States. It was also introduced to St. Helena Island in the South Atlantic. [2]
Adult face flies will emerge from winter hibernation around March to early April. During the daytime, they feed on manure juices and plant sugars. On cattle and horses, they feed on secretions around the eyes, mouth and nostrils. The adult flies will also feed on the hosts' blood through wounds such as horse-fly bites. A larger proportion of face flies on the host will be females, as they have a higher need for protein provided by animal hosts. At night, both sexes will rest on vegetation.[ citation needed ]
Females deposit eggs on fresh cow manure and these hatch within hours after deposition. The yellowish-white maggots feed on the microbial flora and fauna of the manure and pass through three larval stages (instars), growing to about 12 mm long, then developing into white pupae. They emerge as adults about 10 to 20 days after egg deposition, depending on the temperature.[ citation needed ]
M. autumnalis is considered a pest species, as it transmits the eyeworm Thelazia rhodesi to cattle and horses, and pinkeye (infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis) to cattle.[ citation needed ]
As for human disease, M. autumnalis may have transmitted the eyeworm Thelazia gulosa to a woman's eye in Oregon in 2016 [3] [4] and to a second woman's eye in Carmel Valley, California in 2018. [5]
Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- di- "two", and πτερόν pteron "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced mechanosensory organs known as halteres, which act as high-speed sensors of rotational movement and allow dipterans to perform advanced aerobatics. Diptera is a large order containing an estimated 1,000,000 species including horse-flies, crane flies, hoverflies and others, although only about 125,000 species have been described.
Horse-flies or horseflies are true flies in the family Tabanidae in the insect order Diptera. They are often large and agile in flight, and only the female horseflies bite animals, including humans, to obtain blood. They prefer to fly in sunlight, avoiding dark and shady areas, and are inactive at night. They are found all over the world except for some islands and the polar regions. Both horse-flies and botflies (Oestridae) are sometimes referred to as gadflies.
Deer flies are bloodsucking insects considered pests to humans and cattle. They are large flies with large brightly-coloured compound eyes, and large clear wings with dark bands. They are larger than the common housefly and smaller than the horse-fly. There are 250 species of deer fly in the genus Chrysops. Their distribution is worldwide, though they have not been reported in Iceland, Greenland, and Hawaii.
Muscidae are a family of flies found in the superfamily Muscoidea.
Stomoxys calcitrans is commonly called the stable fly, barn fly, biting house fly, dog fly, or power mower fly. Unlike most members of the family Muscidae, Stomoxys calcitrans and others of its genus suck blood from mammals. Now found worldwide, the species is considered to be of Eurasian origin.
Hermetia illucens, the black soldier fly, is a common and widespread fly of the family Stratiomyidae.
Haematobia irritans, the horn fly, is a small fly. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is of the genus Haematobia which is the European genus of bloodsucking flies. Haematobia irritans is a native of Europe but has been introduced to North America and is considered a potentially dangerous livestock pest.
Mesembrina meridiana, sometimes known as the noon fly or noonday fly, is a species of fly in the family Muscidae.
The housefly is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha. It is believed to have evolved in the Cenozoic Era, possibly in the Middle East, and has spread all over the world as a commensal of humans. It is the most common fly species found in houses. Adults are gray to black, with four dark, longitudinal lines on the thorax, slightly hairy bodies, and a single pair of membranous wings. They have red eyes, set farther apart in the slightly larger female.
Thelazia is a genus of nematode worms which parasitize the eyes and associated tissues of various bird and mammal hosts, including humans. They are often called "eyeworms", and infestation with Thelazia species is referred to as "thelaziasis". Adults are usually found in the eyelids, tear glands, tear ducts, or the so-called "third eyelid". Occasionally, they are found in the eyeball itself, either under the conjunctiva or in the vitreous cavity of the eyeball. All species of Thelazia for which the life cycle has been studied are transmitted by species of Diptera (flies) which do not bite, but which feed on tears.
Thelazia callipaeda is a parasitic nematode, and the most common cause of thelaziasis in humans, dogs and cats. It was first discovered in the eyes of a dog in China in 1910. By 2000, over 250 human cases had been reported in the medical literature.
Thelaziasis is the term for infestation with parasitic nematodes of the genus Thelazia. The adults of all Thelazia species discovered so far inhabit the eyes and associated tissues of various mammal and bird hosts, including humans. Thelazia nematodes are often referred to as "eyeworms".
Entomophthora muscae is a species of pathogenic fungus in the order Entomophthorales which causes a fatal disease in flies. It can cause epizootic outbreaks of disease in houseflies and has been investigated as a potential biological control agent.
Hydrotaea is a genus of insects in the housefly family, Muscidae. They occur in most regions of the world but are more populous in warmer climates. They are often found on feces in summer months, and are therefore generally found in close proximity to livestock. Among the 130 known species in this genus, one of the most commonly recognized is the dump fly.
Macrocheles muscaedomesticae is a species of mite in the family Macrochelidae. It has a cosmopolitan distribution.
Hytrosaviridae is a family of double-stranded DNA viruses that infect insects. The name is derived from Hytrosa, sigla from the Greek Hypertrophia for 'hypertrophy' and 'sialoadenitis' for 'salivary gland inflammation.'
Haematobosca stimulans is a fly from the family Muscidae. It is an ectoparasite which feeds on the blood of mammals.
Many species of flies of the two-winged type, Order Diptera, such as mosquitoes, horse-flies, blow-flies and warble-flies, cause direct parasitic disease to domestic animals, and transmit organisms that cause diseases. These infestations and infections cause distress to companion animals, and in livestock industry the financial costs of these diseases are high. These problems occur wherever domestic animals are reared. This article provides an overview of parasitic flies from a veterinary perspective, with emphasis on the disease-causing relationships between these flies and their host animals. The article is organized following the taxonomic hierarchy of these flies in the phylum Arthropoda, order Insecta. Families and genera of dipteran flies are emphasized rather than many individual species. Disease caused by the feeding activity of the flies is described here under parasitic disease. Disease caused by small pathogenic organisms that pass from the flies to domestic animals is described here under transmitted organisms; prominent examples are provided from the many species.
Thelazia californiensis is a nematode that originates in the genus Thelazia, which comes from phylum Nematoda. This worm has been known to cause Thelaziasis in hosts.
John G. Stoffolano, Jr. is an American entomologist specializing in non-biting fly behavior, physiology, and veterinary issues of flies as vectors of pathogens.
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